Speaker 1: It's time for the Happy Half Hour with your friends
Speaker 1: Christian Balboni, Will Bryant and Darren Gamp. It's that time
Speaker 1: of the week. Welcome to the Happy Half Hour podcast
Speaker 1: with your friends Will, Darren Kristen and producer Matt And guys,
Speaker 1: it is a happy half hour indeed, with the Panthers
Speaker 1: coming off of that big win in Arizona over the
Speaker 1: previously eight and one Cardinals, with Cam Newton back in
Speaker 1: the in the mix for Carolina. I mean, we talked
Speaker 1: about the immediate reaction last week. Of course we waited
Speaker 1: to podcast until um the dust had settled just a
Speaker 1: little bit. But now we've seen him in his first
Speaker 1: game action back with the Panthers. And people can't see
Speaker 1: this because this is a podcast and not on video.
Speaker 1: But Will and I are both sitting here recording this
Speaker 1: podcast while wearing large fat hats with feathers in them,
Speaker 1: so that theater of the mind and you just smoke
Speaker 1: at the same time into the same mike Weirdly. I
Speaker 1: don't know why you guys are doing that. All I
Speaker 1: have to say is y'all made fun of me at
Speaker 1: the top of last week's podcast for saying Cam and
Speaker 1: then over the weekend, I heard Jonathan Vilma, Nate Burlison,
Speaker 1: and Michael Strahan A'll do the exact same thing on
Speaker 1: national television. As if it wasn't a thing you all
Speaker 1: made fun of me. It's a thing we do it. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm just kidding. But that's the MG the dude brings.
Speaker 1: And it was evident on Sunday. I mean it was,
Speaker 1: you know, as Matt Rule said, man takes his first
Speaker 1: two touches for touchdowns. That's like a movie. It's not
Speaker 1: a real thing that happens in the world. It's just
Speaker 1: this cinematic quality. And we'll talked about last week like
Speaker 1: we were watching the movie of this man's life unfold.
Speaker 1: Well this was another chapter in at that game the
Speaker 1: other day and and people were freaking out. I mean,
Speaker 1: look at Christian McCaffrey, who's normally the most poised, composed
Speaker 1: person in the world, and he was just over there
Speaker 1: losing it, not really knowing what he was doing with
Speaker 1: his arms and legs. And that's the effect. If, yes,
Speaker 1: if you go onto the Panthers Twitter, you'll see Darren
Speaker 1: tried to do it. But again theater of the mind, um,
Speaker 1: no one can see it. He does this weird kind
Speaker 1: of like floppy hand dance. That's why I think it's
Speaker 1: the Bernie. But he just did it poorly until he
Speaker 1: was just like, I don't know what I was doing.
Speaker 1: It looked like the Bernie to be one thing. That
Speaker 1: because I was on the sideline for the game, and
Speaker 1: I don't know if this was captured on the TV broadcast,
Speaker 1: imagine it was. I want to say maybe it was
Speaker 1: the first touchdown that or they remember when they thought
Speaker 1: Christian scored right and he was out of bounds with
Speaker 1: the two he Kimden came off the bench and Christian
Speaker 1: leaped into his arms as if it were like, uh,
Speaker 1: not quite the dirty dancing, but it was like it
Speaker 1: was like a like an ice dancing lift. It was
Speaker 1: great to see, but then of course, you know, it's celebration.
Speaker 1: Doesn't quite work when when you when you old score.
Speaker 1: But in the in the heat of the moment, everyone
Speaker 1: thought he had you know, gotten in and um, it
Speaker 1: was before the they looked at the play. If I'm
Speaker 1: not mistaken, that happened at one point in the game,
Speaker 1: and I think it was that that first run of
Speaker 1: Christians where they thought he got into into score. There's
Speaker 1: a great picture of them from the Atlanta game in
Speaker 1: where they both like had their arms out like this
Speaker 1: kind of like on the front of the Titanic and
Speaker 1: then they just like leapt up onto like ten feet
Speaker 1: in the air and it's this this fantastic frame of
Speaker 1: like the background of the stadium of like the two
Speaker 1: of them like screaming, just like it's incredible. I'm picturing
Speaker 1: that Lebron Dwayne Wade picture, you know what I'm talking about,
Speaker 1: where there they both have their arms out. We've referenced
Speaker 1: like seven visual things in the first three minutes. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: and again Darren demonstrate all of these moves as a
Speaker 1: companion piece. When we released will illustrate it. They will
Speaker 1: be drawings and stuff, stick figures maybe, But that's the
Speaker 1: I mean, I say this all the time. That's the
Speaker 1: effect this man has on people a team, and they
Speaker 1: talked about it and Matt Rule is very big into
Speaker 1: the football now where past the impact. But he was like,
Speaker 1: you know, all that stuff is cool, the fun is good,
Speaker 1: the excitement is great. You like being in that kind
Speaker 1: of atmosphere as long as he's doing the work, as
Speaker 1: long as he's getting the stuff done on the field.
Speaker 1: And two touches two touchdowns last week. He's getting done
Speaker 1: on the field, and now there are new challenges with
Speaker 1: getting him, you know, up to speed and actually learning
Speaker 1: what the Panthers do offensively and stuff like that. But
Speaker 1: right now we're just I mean, we are truly in
Speaker 1: the middle of a hurricane of a moment and it's
Speaker 1: just in a but in a good way, and there's
Speaker 1: just so much stuff going on you just kind of
Speaker 1: try to latch onto one thing, and um, I mean
Speaker 1: it really it defies descriptions sometimes. You know, Matt used
Speaker 1: the phrase force of nature yesterday talking about Camp, but
Speaker 1: it's seriously what he is. He's a rock star, he
Speaker 1: he's a weather event. He's a force of nature. That's
Speaker 1: it sounds overdone, It sounds corny and cliche, and they
Speaker 1: all happen to be true. I agree. I really liked
Speaker 1: what what Matt Rule said yesterday, so we heard him
Speaker 1: staying in the press conference, and then I asked him
Speaker 1: about it later as I was doing an interview for
Speaker 1: our TV show, where he said, yes, you know, Darny,
Speaker 1: were just talking about the energy. Yes, he brings the energy,
Speaker 1: and that's the big storyline, and that's what everyone's talking about,
Speaker 1: but really it kind of diminishes the other stuff that
Speaker 1: we're seeing him do. If you're just talking about the
Speaker 1: energy he brings, what he did when he was in
Speaker 1: the game, as as you said, Darren, the stuff he's
Speaker 1: doing behind the scenes, the type of worker that he is. Like, yes,
Speaker 1: the energy is there and it's important, but you know,
Speaker 1: as I mean, this is football speak, but it's not
Speaker 1: like they brought him in to compete and to win.
Speaker 1: And so if you just talk about the energy that
Speaker 1: he brings, UM, which he does, you're also not acknowledging
Speaker 1: the work that he's putting in the you know, way
Speaker 1: he's taking care of his body, the person that he's trying,
Speaker 1: the leader that he trying to be for his team.
Speaker 1: And one thing I saw on the sidelines, so of
Speaker 1: course he was very limited, um in his contributions because
Speaker 1: he had been there for what a day and a
Speaker 1: half um, so they had a few things planned for him.
Speaker 1: We saw him in some short yardage situations, but like
Speaker 1: during the time that he was not on the field,
Speaker 1: he was using it to try to coach up the
Speaker 1: other players. Like I saw him put his arm around
Speaker 1: Derek Brown before the defense went out for the first series.
Speaker 1: I you know, we saw him gather the offense. I
Speaker 1: think everyone saw that. I was right behind the bench
Speaker 1: for that. And at one point he was talking to
Speaker 1: Christian and then talking to Taylor Moulton and the offensive line,
Speaker 1: showing them, like showing them something he had seen from
Speaker 1: a Cardinals defender, just to make sure. And now that
Speaker 1: that is stuff that that all the players on the
Speaker 1: Panthers are very good about doing. But I mean, he
Speaker 1: was really trying to make the most and contribute the
Speaker 1: most he could when he was not out there on
Speaker 1: the field. To let's face it, a lot of guys
Speaker 1: that he doesn't know well quite yet. I mean, that's
Speaker 1: a that's an interesting situation to come in and everything's
Speaker 1: kind of way different two years later, and you know,
Speaker 1: I'm some of them. I'm sure they haven't been properly
Speaker 1: introduced or he hasn't gotten to meet all of them.
Speaker 1: But he was really making the most of of every moment.
Speaker 1: At least that's what I saw. Yeah, and there are
Speaker 1: a lot more people on this roster who don't know
Speaker 1: him than who know him well. They know they know
Speaker 1: of him about it, but personally, and I keep thinking
Speaker 1: everything just keeps getting ratcheted up over the course of
Speaker 1: the year. Remember when they brought in to find Gilmore
Speaker 1: and Phil Snow was talking about introducing him to somebody
Speaker 1: and said, it's to find Gilmore. Everybody knows Cam's on
Speaker 1: a different level. Literally, everybody in the entire world knows
Speaker 1: who Cam Newton is. But what is it fourteen guys
Speaker 1: on this roster who have ever been around him? You know,
Speaker 1: And obviously that's a small percentage. So these guys are
Speaker 1: getting a crash course in Cam as much as he's
Speaker 1: getting a crash course and met Rule and and Joe
Speaker 1: Brady's game plan office, and we're getting a little bit
Speaker 1: of a crash course too. I mean, and I want
Speaker 1: to overplay this kind of storyline of all this, but
Speaker 1: it does feel like it's it's Cam two point oh
Speaker 1: to an extent, like there there's a different you know,
Speaker 1: Cam has talked about the perspective he he took this
Speaker 1: fall when he talked last Friday, you know, in that
Speaker 1: really long press conference of you know what it was like.
Speaker 1: You know, he was eating cereal last week. You know,
Speaker 1: Darren Is still has a lot of work to figure
Speaker 1: out what cereal kind of cereal right, I will find out.
Speaker 1: But you know that that he's had this perspective of
Speaker 1: what it's like when you have to be at home,
Speaker 1: you don't have coaches, you don't have anyone else. You're
Speaker 1: in charge of your life. You have to structure it.
Speaker 1: You have to put in the work to to organize
Speaker 1: and be on top of the things that are important,
Speaker 1: and to prioritize yourself rather than have other people prioritized
Speaker 1: for you. And he was talking about like how much
Speaker 1: that's helped him and how much that's helped him grow.
Speaker 1: And I think, you know, coming back, there's both an
Speaker 1: appreciation for you know, hey, I'm playing football, and but
Speaker 1: also a you know, an understanding of what it kind
Speaker 1: of can take. I mean, obviously he took some stuff
Speaker 1: from Bill Belichick and that time in New England, but
Speaker 1: I do think there's a different a different level of focus,
Speaker 1: and there's a different I mean I think DJ and
Speaker 1: CMC and all those guys would be like, they don't
Speaker 1: want to overstate it publicly, but I think they would
Speaker 1: probably say, are you just a little bit of a
Speaker 1: different cam? Yeah? And and how would there not be
Speaker 1: I mean, he went from here where you listen for
Speaker 1: lack of a better word, Cam is able to do
Speaker 1: whatever he want, whenever he wanted. When he was playing
Speaker 1: for the Carolina Panthers, there were no breaks on Cam Newton. Uh,
Speaker 1: he goes to New England, where it's all break, no gas,
Speaker 1: Everything is prescribed, everything is controlled. Fun is not on
Speaker 1: the menu. You know, whether you enjoy your life in
Speaker 1: New England is of no concern whatsoever to Bill Belichick.
Speaker 1: And then he's unemployed. So I mean the idea that
Speaker 1: he's changed, Well, yeah, how would he not be changed?
Speaker 1: Any of those who have ever been in situations where
Speaker 1: there was some degree of comfort, then there's a change,
Speaker 1: then there's unemployment, It's like, yeah, it kind of forces
Speaker 1: you to refocus on on certain things and and that's
Speaker 1: kind of what he's walking in here as now. And
Speaker 1: again it's it's hard to tell, and we're caught up
Speaker 1: in the moment right now, and everybody wonders, what's it
Speaker 1: gonna look like negative, what's it gonna look like next week?
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't have any idea how this
Speaker 1: is going to question we're gonna talk about that. I
Speaker 1: thought you were gonna tell us exactly how it's gonna
Speaker 1: go yeah, I wish I knew. He wishes he knew.
Speaker 1: Everybody does. But I think you know right now this
Speaker 1: is a crash course in being present. You know, I'll
Speaker 1: steal Ron rivera phrase be where your feet are, and
Speaker 1: that's kind of that's kind of where we are right now.
Speaker 1: I don't think it's helpful really to think about, oh,
Speaker 1: is this gonna work in twenty two? Is this gonna
Speaker 1: work this week? And what's it gonna look like this week?
Speaker 1: I agree? So so short of asking you, Darren um,
Speaker 1: which I don't know how, you don't know how it's
Speaker 1: all gonna work out last week, but sort of asking
Speaker 1: you that, what does it look like in terms of
Speaker 1: getting a guy ready? Who Now, Matt Rule has said
Speaker 1: that they're giving Cam the majority of the reps in
Speaker 1: practice this week with the hope that he is able
Speaker 1: to go as the starter. That's that's I believe the
Speaker 1: official line, right. So I just want to make sure
Speaker 1: I get that out there, right, So, what does it
Speaker 1: look like this week? A guy gets your last Thursday incredibly,
Speaker 1: you know, just physically commanding in town. Did you know
Speaker 1: you could just you know, he can get the ball
Speaker 1: and run it for for as long as he can
Speaker 1: make it, and that's a great play, right, Like he's
Speaker 1: it's always gonna go. Well, but what does it look
Speaker 1: like to try to get someone ready with the hopes
Speaker 1: that they will start for this next game. Well, Kristen Belboni,
Speaker 1: I'm glad you asked, because there's a story coming up
Speaker 1: later this week about that very topic. Um, and I
Speaker 1: have talked to people inside the building and outside the
Speaker 1: building about what that entails, people like Vinny Testaverdy and
Speaker 1: Jake Deloum and quarterbacks who have been in this situation before. So, um, yeah,
Speaker 1: I look forward to getting that one out there in
Speaker 1: front of the people. But you know, in the short
Speaker 1: answer to that is a lot of time. I'm in.
Speaker 1: Monday was the day you come off at a late
Speaker 1: game on the West Coast, you fly back east. Everybody's
Speaker 1: kind of zombiefied. We got back, so I was on
Speaker 1: the team plane for that game. We got back at Um, yeah,
Speaker 1: but I mean, but you're actually at your house at
Speaker 1: two I would say, you know, you might land at
Speaker 1: one thirty, but you're at your house at two o'clock
Speaker 1: in the morning, and we were flying commercial and got
Speaker 1: back at five thirty am. You know, and in the
Speaker 1: bed at six thirty. Um, so it Monday is a
Speaker 1: tough day. Rule brings them in, still puts them through meetings,
Speaker 1: doing all the recovery stuff that they normally do. But
Speaker 1: most of the players were gone by mid afternoon because
Speaker 1: he knows it's been a long night. Everybody's tired. Nobody
Speaker 1: slipped well last night. Um, and they were going out.
Speaker 1: I had somebody tell me that at seven o'clock on
Speaker 1: Monday night, Cam was going upstairs to go meet with
Speaker 1: Joe and Seawan and Joe Brady, Shawn Ryan offensive coordinator,
Speaker 1: quarterback coach, and so Cam was going in to put
Speaker 1: in late nights. I mean, and that's what you do
Speaker 1: when you're trying to get caught up. It's the it's
Speaker 1: the time you have to spend. But I think it's
Speaker 1: kind of a good illustration of the way the guys
Speaker 1: approaching it. I mean, if Cam was just looking to
Speaker 1: roll in here, be Cam Newton and do his one
Speaker 1: particular thing that he's great at, that would be fine.
Speaker 1: But I mean, to be putting in a late night
Speaker 1: on that night says something. Because of course you're tired.
Speaker 1: Everybody's tired, you know. I walked in Monday night and
Speaker 1: kind of flopped at the end of the day. I mean,
Speaker 1: it was just, you know, there's it's hard to concentrate
Speaker 1: when you're that tired. But that's the time he's putting
Speaker 1: into it. He's taking it seriously, there's no question about that.
Speaker 1: Just for fun, okay, just for fun, let's go around
Speaker 1: the horn style. We'll love to do this. Let's go
Speaker 1: around the horn style and talk about one because I
Speaker 1: do want to talk about what we think next week
Speaker 1: is our next Sunday is going to look like against
Speaker 1: Washington to end things. But before we get ahead of ourselves,
Speaker 1: one non CAM related storyline or stat that you find
Speaker 1: really intriguing or that you think has contributed to to
Speaker 1: the way this team is playing, because of course, what
Speaker 1: of all the stories and and focus is going to
Speaker 1: be on CAM and has been on CAM, and rightfully
Speaker 1: so considering his legacy, But under the radar, there's there
Speaker 1: were some really great things going on, especially in that
Speaker 1: last Arizona game. Yeah, and and I can't put this
Speaker 1: in numbers the way will will be able to put
Speaker 1: it into numbers. But Shack Thompson, Ladies and Gentlemen, is
Speaker 1: playing the very best football of his entire life. Uh,
Speaker 1: he has never looked as good. He's found kind of
Speaker 1: a spiritual home. I do not know that man is
Speaker 1: a d percent physically where he could be because he
Speaker 1: had that foot injury down in Dallas. He's working his
Speaker 1: way back and and there's a little bit of management
Speaker 1: when you have something like that. But this man is
Speaker 1: exactly what that defense needs. They've invested a lot of
Speaker 1: resources and linemen through last year's draft and free agency.
Speaker 1: They've invested a lot of resources in corners, but without
Speaker 1: that guy in the middle. When you all have heard
Speaker 1: me talk about the Carolina Panthers have always had that guy.
Speaker 1: They've had Sam Mills, They've had Dan Morgan, John Beeson,
Speaker 1: Luke Keikley, etcetera. There's always been that guy in the middle.
Speaker 1: Shack is becoming one of those guys. I mean he
Speaker 1: is entering kind of rare territory and he's able to
Speaker 1: set the tone for an entire defense. I mean kind
Speaker 1: of the spirit the offense draws from Cam Newton. It's
Speaker 1: not like that because nobody's like Cam Newton, but Shack
Speaker 1: has that effect. And when he was out there was
Speaker 1: a little bit of a lull. But now that he's back.
Speaker 1: There's a different tone on that defense, and they feel
Speaker 1: like they can stop anybody. I asked him yesterday. He
Speaker 1: and I were just chatting in the building and I said, okay,
Speaker 1: serious question. How are you playing so fast? He gained
Speaker 1: weight in the offseason, like you said, he's been through
Speaker 1: foot in junk and he's playing so fast. Well, I
Speaker 1: know you have that the the stat about what the
Speaker 1: quickest sack. It was the fastest sack in the last
Speaker 1: three years. So he was like, and of course, Shack
Speaker 1: mean Jack. He was like, oh, I'm not really that, like,
Speaker 1: oh no, And Stanley Thomas Oliver was in front of
Speaker 1: us and he turned around and he was like, you
Speaker 1: are so fast, bro, You're so fast. Is like, no,
Speaker 1: I'm not. He's like, you're so fast. It was great.
Speaker 1: And he's playing I mean, as you said, he's playing
Speaker 1: his best football. And you know, it takes a little
Speaker 1: bit to get it out of him, but he'll say it,
Speaker 1: you know, And and his coaches said it, and I've
Speaker 1: talked to Thomas Davis several times. He said it, and
Speaker 1: so I asked him, I said, look, these people are
Speaker 1: saying you're playing your best football. Do you do you
Speaker 1: feel like you are, and he's like, yeah, you know
Speaker 1: what they could do. But of course he's in his
Speaker 1: shack way, very humble about being as fast as he
Speaker 1: isn't playing as well as he is. But it's it's
Speaker 1: it's great to see it's great to see him him
Speaker 1: live up to that. I mean it, like you said,
Speaker 1: big shoes to Phil. Over the last three weeks, Shack
Speaker 1: is one of two NFL players with at least twenty
Speaker 1: five tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, one interception,
Speaker 1: one could be hit in one past reflection Kendricks Eric
Speaker 1: Kendricks to Minnesota's credible. Yeah, yeah, I mean yeah, and
Speaker 1: obviously more and more and more, but yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: just the he had just another game where he did
Speaker 1: a little bit of everything that one can do on defense. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's everywhere, Yeah, he is everywhere. All right, Well, was
Speaker 1: that your stat of the week or whatever. I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm just like a dial up machine, you know, Just alright,
Speaker 1: put one non Shack, non cam related stat or storyline.
Speaker 1: Christian McCaffrey has averaged a hundred twenty six point two
Speaker 1: scrimmage yards, this year's second best in the NFL. He
Speaker 1: needs just forty five yards. This is for you for
Speaker 1: the sideline needs forty five receiving yards on Sunday to
Speaker 1: be in the three thousand, three thousand club. He will
Speaker 1: be the fastest player in NFL history to get there.
Speaker 1: Just text me that when you get a chance. I
Speaker 1: was gonna try to write it down. It's a great note.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna sound so smart on the radio broadcast. I
Speaker 1: literally just just I'm gonna give you a link. Just
Speaker 1: read down this this page. Absolutely keep refreshing it to
Speaker 1: give me more clicks. Okay, you got it. I can
Speaker 1: do that, no problem. Yeah. I mean he's he looks
Speaker 1: great as well, and and as you guys, and as
Speaker 1: we said earlier, just that last game, he just seemed
Speaker 1: so excited flopping his hands around as Darryl straight later.
Speaker 1: The staff that people had that it was the average
Speaker 1: yards before initial contact was like seven. I mean, he
Speaker 1: was into the linebackers and safeties before anyone got a
Speaker 1: hand on him almost every play. Well, and that's another
Speaker 1: thing too, And it's another layer. I mean, Christian McCaffrey
Speaker 1: already makes you a dangerous rushing team. Dropping Cam Newton
Speaker 1: into the middle of it just adds another layer that
Speaker 1: people have to prepare for. And I think it's interesting
Speaker 1: that they've had, like they had a little speed option plays.
Speaker 1: You saw p J. Walker run it down in Atlanta
Speaker 1: right before the almost interception in Atlanta. But you know
Speaker 1: they've got some of that in the playbook. So the
Speaker 1: idea that when you go to the goal line, it's
Speaker 1: not just quarterback power. You might be running option with
Speaker 1: Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey. And if you're a defensive
Speaker 1: coordinator linebacker and you see that and you think that
Speaker 1: might becoming it's like, what do you do? I mean,
Speaker 1: it's almost helpless. It's like, Okay, I'm kind of jammed
Speaker 1: up here either way. Um, so play hard boys, try
Speaker 1: my best. Before we get back to the Cam story stuff,
Speaker 1: like Darren explained to me how you take all your
Speaker 1: starters out of the offensive line and then just shuffle
Speaker 1: and will No one asked me for my Noncam related storyline,
Speaker 1: and it was gonna be that, sorry, Kristen. Kristen asked
Speaker 1: the question. Well, I was just gonna say, as far
Speaker 1: as you know, the storylines that have gone under the
Speaker 1: radar because of this CAM news is the fact that
Speaker 1: it's what was the seventh configuration of a starting lineup
Speaker 1: for this offensive line UM in ten games, and they
Speaker 1: lost two starters last week in addition to the other
Speaker 1: losses that they have had throughout the season, which is
Speaker 1: why they've shuffled so much for the most part, including
Speaker 1: your center and UM and left tackle. And they go
Speaker 1: in and and play a really really clean game. And
Speaker 1: they have had they have had games where they have
Speaker 1: not looked great. There's no there's that's the truth, right.
Speaker 1: They've had games that they wish they could go back to.
Speaker 1: But they've had some of these games like this where
Speaker 1: you're like, how is this gonna work? Just based on
Speaker 1: depth and um who they have available, and and losing
Speaker 1: guys unexpectedly stalwarts on this line like Matt Parrotis, And
Speaker 1: they go out and play a great game, right, one
Speaker 1: sack in the last three games and two zeros in there,
Speaker 1: I mean, and that's I mean, it's kind of unheard of.
Speaker 1: Now it pairs up with the fact that they're running
Speaker 1: a lot more and a lot more effectively. I mean,
Speaker 1: if you go back to Atlanta before Christian you know
Speaker 1: forty what it was forty six for two oh three
Speaker 1: and then last week was thirty seven for one sixty six.
Speaker 1: I think, off the top of my head, how do
Speaker 1: I do? Will? That's pretty good? All right? Thanks? Um,
Speaker 1: you know those things are combined. When you're running a lot,
Speaker 1: it's a lot less opportunities for pass rush on the
Speaker 1: other side and you're ahead, So I mean it's it
Speaker 1: helps in that regard and when you're able to call
Speaker 1: plays that way. So um, But all that being said,
Speaker 1: they're playing a lot better. Michael Jordan and Trent Scott
Speaker 1: are a bigger pair of guards, and they've added some physicality.
Speaker 1: We'll see. Johnny Miller came back off. I are he
Speaker 1: practiced yesterday, but I think he's still, you know, a
Speaker 1: week or so away from getting back into the lineup maybe.
Speaker 1: But Trent Scott's filled in and pretty impressively well. He
Speaker 1: played some left tackle for him last year, never really
Speaker 1: played that much guard. He had to finish a game
Speaker 1: at guard last year against the Saints, I think it was,
Speaker 1: but practically no experience playing inside, and all of a
Speaker 1: sudden he's played right guard for the last three weeks
Speaker 1: since looked pretty good. So, um, they've got a little
Speaker 1: more beef in the middle. They've they're a little more
Speaker 1: stout pad l Flyne while he's replacing a starter in
Speaker 1: Matt Paradis, who I think has always taken a lot
Speaker 1: more crap than he deserved. Matt Pearedis is smart. He's
Speaker 1: a different kind of center. He's more like Ryan Khalil
Speaker 1: and that he's he's more mobile and and smart rather
Speaker 1: than big and brawny. But you know, elf Lines come
Speaker 1: in and replaced him pretty well. And that's an important
Speaker 1: position because the center calls out all the protections. You know,
Speaker 1: quarterbacks in this offense aren't going to the line and
Speaker 1: making those kind of calls. That's handled by the center.
Speaker 1: So that's a super important job. So having somebody like Elflyne,
Speaker 1: who's done it in the NFL and has a little
Speaker 1: bit of gravity, helps out. But but also he was
Speaker 1: on I R for most of them, you know, so
Speaker 1: it's not like he was he's he's was the backup center,
Speaker 1: but it's not like he had the benefit of a
Speaker 1: lot of practice, yeah, you know. And and Sam Tecklenberg
Speaker 1: did a solid job for a backup and a guy
Speaker 1: who was initially kind of envisioned as maybe a practice
Speaker 1: squad guy or something like that, but he had to
Speaker 1: step in and play a good bit and he played okay,
Speaker 1: so they have It's not an ideal situation, but those
Speaker 1: Cats have made the most of it over the last
Speaker 1: three weeks. Absolutely, And I would just say some honorable
Speaker 1: mentions for non came related storylines. I mean, Hassan and
Speaker 1: it continues to be great. P J Walker. I mean,
Speaker 1: the reason that Cam was able to come in and
Speaker 1: score those touchdowns is because PJ and the defense. The
Speaker 1: defense got them in in great field position and PJ
Speaker 1: took them down the field. Edward where the week for
Speaker 1: the second straight time. All Right, We're gonna wrap up soon,
Speaker 1: but before we do, I just want to ask you, guys,
Speaker 1: we're gonna forego the weird question of the week and
Speaker 1: talk about this Sunday's game. What do you expect Bank
Speaker 1: of America Stadium to be like on Sunday? You both
Speaker 1: have been you both had the benefit of of the
Speaker 1: excitement that Cam brings to the home field. I have
Speaker 1: not seen it. I mean I've I've seen it in
Speaker 1: person as a fan, but I haven't I haven't worked
Speaker 1: here when it happens. So I'm just wondering, you know,
Speaker 1: what do you think it's gonnare There were people there's
Speaker 1: a lot of people that are new to this organization
Speaker 1: that have started in the last two years, that work
Speaker 1: in various rooms and buildings that I'm a part of.
Speaker 1: And I've heard some of the younger ones they are
Speaker 1: worried of how much the thing is going to shake,
Speaker 1: that like it might fall down the stadium. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: have a baby on the way. I just want to
Speaker 1: make sure that I didn't mean it in that way,
Speaker 1: but it is going to shake. I don't think it's
Speaker 1: all I've heard that. You know, I did that structurally
Speaker 1: sound everyone, but some of the biggest games it has Huck,
Speaker 1: you can feel it. You can feel the upper deck,
Speaker 1: you can feel that. I mean it's going to have
Speaker 1: that effect. Yeah, And the first answer is full yes.
Speaker 1: For one thing. I mean, I don't think there's going
Speaker 1: to be a lot of unused seats this weekend, just
Speaker 1: based on based on walking around in the community and
Speaker 1: people wanting tickets and stuff like that and wondering how
Speaker 1: to get tickets. And I mean there is demand. The
Speaker 1: crowded Arizona was was full of panthers, fright, And you know,
Speaker 1: I think a lot of people, a lot of people
Speaker 1: just want to be a part of the show. I mean,
Speaker 1: we talk about it a lot around here, and and
Speaker 1: he is kind of the show everybody wants to see.
Speaker 1: So everybody wants to get in here this weekend. But
Speaker 1: it's going to be you want to be here for
Speaker 1: pregame introductions because doors open. When when that man comes
Speaker 1: through that tunnel and there's smoke and there's all the
Speaker 1: stuff and the fanfare and all that, it's like, what's
Speaker 1: he gonna do? What's it going to be like? And
Speaker 1: you want to see it. You're smiling so big right now.
Speaker 1: To me, it's just you've heard me talk about music
Speaker 1: and concerts, and my answer is always go see the show.
Speaker 1: There's not going to be a bigger show in this
Speaker 1: city this weekend than Cam Newton because, as you said,
Speaker 1: Cam is the show. But it's also it's not just Cam.
Speaker 1: It's Cam being back with the Panthers, and Cam being
Speaker 1: back with the Panthers against Washington, with Ron Rivera and
Speaker 1: Marty Hernie and the entire coaching staff and half the roster.
Speaker 1: We'll break it all down for you next week after
Speaker 1: after we see what it's like on Sunday. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much everyone for listen ening. We'll talk to you
Speaker 1: on the next Happy half Hour podcast, m